Energy generation (EG) systems may be part of a distributed generation system, where several EG systems are distributed among residential, commercial, and industrial consumers of electricity. Such EG systems may include solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, and wind technologies. In instances where the energy generation exceeds the energy required by loads, an overgeneration condition may occur. Sending all the surplus energy to the grid may not be feasible for the grid, may not be allowable by regulations, or may damage equipment in the grid. To avoid an overgeneration situation, the EG systems may be sent control messages in real time by a control server. The control server may not be located at the same site as an EG system because of the distributed nature of the generation system, and the control server may communicate over a network to the EG system. The control messages to the EG systems may include instructions to adjust the energy generation output level of the EG system. With a solar photovoltaic EG system, the energy generation output level may be adjusted by tuning the power point or other electrical characteristic of a photovoltaic inverter that is electrically coupled to solar photovoltaic panels. The process of decreasing the energy generation output is called curtailment. Under normal operation, the output of the EG systems may be curtailed multiple times in a day. However, if the EG system loses communication with the control server, the EG system would not receive a new control message and as a result, the EG system may not adjust its energy output, possibly leading to an overgeneration condition. The technology described herein addresses issues with communication failures in a distributed generation system and other issues associated with distributed generation systems.